Review and Giveaway: Jewel of the East by Victoria Vane

I love happy endings. The guy the gets the girl. The girl gets her romantic fairy-tale ending. It’s just what the heart needs. Add into that a wounded warrior and I’m all over it!

Jewel of the East continues the story of friends formed in England in the 1700’s. A group of boys joined forces at their school and have remained friends as they’ve grown older. The exploits are legendary and their prowess as loves is unrivaled. But, just like any bad-boy, when they fall in love, they fall hard.

Simon Singleton is a lover, a poet and as bawdy as they come. His dad, tired of Simon’s antics, purchases a commission for him and sends him off to the army. Little do they know, this will forever alter Simon’s life. And not in a good way.

Simon is thought dead. He’s not. He’s just been held prisoner for six years. Those six years have changed him. Scared him. Those scars are not just on the outside, they’re on the inside as well.

Salime is just as scared. Her story is much more tragic. But she’s a remarkable woman. She’s made the best of her circumstances and has done everything she can to take care of herself. She’s honorable, desirable and beautiful on the inside and the outside.

Together Salime and Simon embark on a journey. She’s there to help Simon. But Simon ends up helping her just as much. Unfortunately things are not always easy. Sometimes they take some effort, a little heartache and whole lot of faith.

I loved this story from beginning to end. It tugged at my heartstrings, it made me believe in love and happily ever afters all over again.  I loved listening to the stories Salime told. Stories of another time, another place. Stories that will bring you to your knees. But the most amazing thing? The most amazing thing was watching what Simon did for Salime. It goes beyond the physical into the emotional.

Jewel of the East is a beautiful story of love and healing.

Author Victoria Vane is giving away copies of The Trouble With Sin. To win a copy, leave a comment on the blog. Be sure to leave your contact information, so we can get the copy to you!  You have until midnight EST 1/23/14 to leave a comment and win!

The Trouble with Sin … Is the devil within… Aspiring poet Simon "Sin" Singleton, has lived his life only for larks, laughter, and ladies of easy virtue, eluding defying, and flouting all manner of authority until his impetuous misdeeds finally catch up with him. Having lost his muse, his allowance, and even his friends by edict from a tyrannical father and puritanical mother, Simon is ready to drown himself in drink, until receiving an ingenious proposition that could change everything.